The Immediate Need to Implement Clean Renewable Energy Sources Essay Example for Free

The straightaway Need to Implement Clean Renewable Energy Sources EssayIn the words of Nobel Peace simoleons winner, Al Gore, we acquire a planetary emergency at our hands (Gore). For the last 30 old age, orb has steadily been exposed to harmful babys room gases resulting in continuous degradation to our environment. The World Watch add has reported the earths ice layer is melting at its fastest charge per unit of all time (Mayhew, 62+). Fuel-based power plants, population increase and deforestation ar the primary factors why our planet is dying.The primary(prenominal) sources of energy we intent to provide us with electricity argon s bank fossil discharges. Coal and anele might be ample in supply but their smoke emissions are the primary sources of greenho phthisis gases which deplete our ozone layer. Our population has continued to increase in number and it goes without saying that energy consumption pass on increase in direct proportion. Basic science and biolog y has taught us that plants absorb carbon dioxide. why we continue to deplete our forests that uphold dissolve the smoke emissions of diesel power plants borders on insanity. Time and again, slew like Al Gore have reminded us that we are accelerating our admit doom from continued use of environmentally harmful sources of energy. Much has been said or so spheric warming that people tend to allow for that our planet has also experienced acid rains due the various environmental poisons we introduced 20 years agone (Ellis, 17). Yet people still go about their normal ways, refusing to take immediate action to such(prenominal) a global event with catastrophic consequences.Our passive reaction is always As long as it doesnt affect my daily way of life, I wouldnt bother. Well look at where such dismissive attitudes have brought us now? The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate trade has come to the conclusion that the entire world would have to cut greenhouse emissions to as much as 80% just to slow down its personal effects on the environment (). Such a switch would lead us to developing alternative sources of energy, ones that are clean and renewable for sustainable and lasting use. temperateness and wind energy Although on that point are various sources of renewable energy biomass, water, wind and solar energy, we take to focus our attention on the last two. Biomass, which is composed of plant matter and animal wastes still give rise some amount of greenhouse emissions when burned for energy. Hydroelectric power plants sometimes destroy aquatic habitats. If we are to make drastic changes to our sources of energy, it might as well be the right ones with little or no compromises.Wind and solar energy are the cleanest sources we have. It has always been there from the moment we rise up till we retire for the night. We might as well use it to our full benefit. At 25% growth rate per year, wind energy is the fastest rising source of renewable ener gy (Mayhew, 62+). Wind farms bottomland be built in areas with copiousness of blowing air like mountains and shore lines. Solar energy engineering science has always been available since the conception of solar panels and solar cells. Calculators for example have benefited from the miniature solar panels that help reduce the reliance on batteries.Cost is the main obstacle Coal and fossil fuel engineering science have long been accepted as the norm. The cost in developing wind farms and solar panels man we already have energy sources does not make good business sense. Even the predicted yearly reduction of up to 8% in the cost of solar cells for the next 20 years still have not attracted businessmen to convert to renewable energy (Mayhew, 62+). Perhaps it is time for these businessmen and funds makers to crunch the numbers and calculate the cost of buying a new planet. We hold the key to our own extinction by continuing to use our current energy sources. Although undeserved, h umanity still has a detect to change its fate. By funding improvements to renewable energy technology and implementing infrastructure for its applications, we may yet improve our situation.China for example is ahead of the curve in investing in renewable energy sources. They use gadgets like solar water heaters to lessen their dependence on fossil fuels (Clay, 30+). As queen-size as China is, efforts to reverse greenhouse effects cannot lie on one country. This isnt about economics anymore, so we should just throw the expenses out the window. This time, the cheapest and the most commonly used sources of energy is no longer viable. This is now about survival. Costs can no longer be a consideration. Hundreds of billions of dollars are used for senseless wars that do nothing but destroy. How much are we willing to spend to hold on our planet?Successful examplesThere are already some areas which can provide us with the blueprints for prospered implementation of renewable energy so urces. The island of Tac in Chile was previously engulfed in darkness. Their government afforded them the resources to utilize their abundance of wind to power their remotely located island. Today, wind farms power their homes, schools and work areas with no harmful effects to the environment.On another part of the world, Sri Lanka through credit unions, has sold more than 4,000 units of solar energy capable homes (Clay, 30+). This will allow them to reduce and perhaps totally remove their dependence on fuel based power plants. The two countries are not among the most powerful, one can even show that they belong to the lower echelons of economic stability, yet they realize the importance of using alternative energy to not only cater to their present needs but also answer the clamor for cleaner and renewable sources of power.It starts with the United States The United States is the most powerful nation in the world. Everybody follows Americas lead. If there is any chance to save th e world, it is imperative that the shift to renewable energy starts with them. In the words of French ruler, Jacques Chirac, It is in the Americans, in the first place, that we place our hopes of effectively limiting greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale (Mayhew, 62+). For all its power and greatness, America is also the largest contributor of environmental degradation.It is responsible for 25% of the earths greenhouse gas emissions (Mayhew, 62+). America must lead the cleanup of the mess up it helped create. There is now a need to implement clean and renewable energy sources to reverse the years of abuse our world has endured. The task is daunting, but with government policies and strategies to force Americans to shift to solar and wind energy, there is a chance for every one else to follow. Perhaps this is the opportunity for America to shed its war mongering realise and become the nation that saved the entire planet. Wouldnt that be a more pleasant legacy to leave behind? Works CitedClay, Rebecca. Renewable Energy Empowering the Developing World. environmental HealthPerspectives 110(2002) 30+.Ellis, Jane. wherefore Promote Renewable Energy? OECD Observer a.(1996) 17.Gore, Al. An Inconvenient Truth. 31 May 2006. National Public Radio. 6 Dec 2007http//www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5441976.Mayhew, Michael. Appetite for Destruction Renewable Energy Sources Can Help America-And the Rest of the World-Reduce Environmental Impacts While Improving Quality of Life. Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy 16(2001) 62+.